Hamilton County to vote on natural hazard plan, debt management

Repairing wreckage left by flooding, hazardous material spills and other natural and man-made disasters isn't cheap. That's why Hamilton County looks to federal assistance when Mother Nature shows the Chattanooga Valley her more destructive side.

Commissioners are expected to vote today on whether to adopt a new natural hazards mitigation plan to be submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. For the next five years, the plan would lock the county into the federal agency's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which documents dangerous natural and manmade phenomena and sets out plans for how to deal with them.

Don Allen, the county's human services director, said the measure is routine -- but important.

"Basically, it allows Hamilton County to be eligible to apply for grants when you have a disaster in your community. Floods are number one. Floods are the biggest problem that we've had," Allen said.